Paul Skenes Drops Enthusiastic Quote on Representing USA in World Baseball Classic

Seeing the United States' success in the Winter Olympics has Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes even more excited for this year's Wold Baseball Classic.

"Yeah, men's hockey, women's hockey, all the other golds that we won in the Olympics," Skenes said. "We're America, we've got to assert our dominance over everybody else. That's what we do. It's gonna be fun."

For those rooting for the United States in the upcoming WBC, it's hard not to be excited about the roster. Along with Skenes, the U.S. will have pitchers like Tarik Skubal, Logan Webb and Clayton Kershaw and other stars like Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Bryce Harper and more.

The event begins on March 5 and concludes on March 17.

Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal that he is set to make one start during pool play but would pitch again in the tournament if the Americans advance that far.

"We win, we go as far as we should, I'll pitch again in the tournament," Skenes said.

The United States won the WBC in 2017 but lost in the championship game to a Shohei Ohtani-led Japan squad. While other countries will boast plenty of MLB talent, there's perhaps no roster as star-studded as the United States.

Skenes, who played college baseball at Air Force before transferring to LSU, was immediately on board when Team USA manager Mark DeRosa asked him in April. For him, it was a way to honor U.S. servicemen and women.

"That's what we do it for," Skenes told Rosenthal. "This is the greatest country in the world. That's what I believe. That's why I wanted to serve, why I went to the Air Force Academy. And those folks don't get the recognition they deserve."

A bonus is that the time spent with pitchers like Skubal and Kershaw will allow him to learn from the best.

"There's going to be two, two-and-a-half weeks to pick guys' brains," Skenes told reporters. "Talking to them is great but seeing how they operate is another thing. So, aside from winning a gold medal, it would be a pretty good reward for doing that."

Skenes and Team USA will begin WBC play on March 6 against Brazil in pool play.